'Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment' was a popular one from my childhood, and this films sees Mahoney, Tackleberry, Hightower, Hooks, Fackler and Jones go from graduation to a crime-ridden precinct! The six of them are paired up with regulars, and work for Commandant Lassard's brother in Pete Lassard. Instead of having Harris as the main antagonist, we are now introduced to Lt. Mauser (Art Metrano) and his goofy lackey in Proctor (Lance Kinsey) who want to thwart efforts in reducing crime in order to gain ascendance in the Police force.
Missing from this sequel is Leslie Barbara (who never comes back) and Sgt. Debbie Callahan, but we are introduced to an array of new characters such as Sweetchuck (Tim Kazurinsky) - the merchant who is constantly bullied by the criminals, and Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait) who is the leader of the gang that terrorises the city. These two have some of the funniest interactions throughout the movie.
Mahoney is teamed up with a grot named Vinnie (Peter Van Nordan) and Tackleberry is the one with the romantic interest as he hooks up with gun enthusiastic motorcycle cop in Kirkland (Colleen Camp), whose father and brother try to outdo each other with sneaky punches (and they both make an appearance in third film as well). Other pairings don't seem to evolve; Fackler's gimmick remains the same, Jones is teamed up with some grumpy cop and then goes solo later on, Hook's meek voice is used to in the call centre and I really don't remember what happens to Hightower, but he somehow throws several criminals into water at one stage.
The second Police Academy film is not too bad, and is quite funny in parts. Mahoney still plays pranks, and Zed is a riot as the gang leader who freaks out every now and then, and Proctor's addition makes for good humour. Although, Jone's gimmick with the Kung Fu dubbing impersonation was pretty funny- particularly due to the actual dubbing of a spectator, his overall sound-effects noise creations are mostly annoying. The romance between Tackleberry and Kirkland is okay, but not particularly funny, and overall this film took an interesting direction by going into the inner city districts. The following sequels will have the characters return to the academy aspect- whether in presence or in overall plot.
'Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment' is not bad, and slightly dated, however, it is the characters that make this film fun. Not to be taken too seriously by any means, and it has enough laughs to keep it from being abysmal. Not as good as the first or the third!
*** out of *****!
Missing from this sequel is Leslie Barbara (who never comes back) and Sgt. Debbie Callahan, but we are introduced to an array of new characters such as Sweetchuck (Tim Kazurinsky) - the merchant who is constantly bullied by the criminals, and Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait) who is the leader of the gang that terrorises the city. These two have some of the funniest interactions throughout the movie.
Mahoney is teamed up with a grot named Vinnie (Peter Van Nordan) and Tackleberry is the one with the romantic interest as he hooks up with gun enthusiastic motorcycle cop in Kirkland (Colleen Camp), whose father and brother try to outdo each other with sneaky punches (and they both make an appearance in third film as well). Other pairings don't seem to evolve; Fackler's gimmick remains the same, Jones is teamed up with some grumpy cop and then goes solo later on, Hook's meek voice is used to in the call centre and I really don't remember what happens to Hightower, but he somehow throws several criminals into water at one stage.
The second Police Academy film is not too bad, and is quite funny in parts. Mahoney still plays pranks, and Zed is a riot as the gang leader who freaks out every now and then, and Proctor's addition makes for good humour. Although, Jone's gimmick with the Kung Fu dubbing impersonation was pretty funny- particularly due to the actual dubbing of a spectator, his overall sound-effects noise creations are mostly annoying. The romance between Tackleberry and Kirkland is okay, but not particularly funny, and overall this film took an interesting direction by going into the inner city districts. The following sequels will have the characters return to the academy aspect- whether in presence or in overall plot.
'Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment' is not bad, and slightly dated, however, it is the characters that make this film fun. Not to be taken too seriously by any means, and it has enough laughs to keep it from being abysmal. Not as good as the first or the third!
*** out of *****!